Broken Soldier
by AstralWolf
Summary: Steve is critically injured and there is only a certain amount of time to save him before he dies in Natasha's arms. Romanogers!


Steve landed face-first in the snow, his scarlet-red blood staining the frozen water a dark crimson color. A low moan escaped him as he his stomach wound hit the ground. He curled into a ball and turned onto his side, shaking and trembling as he suffered through the pain. Ultron had harmed him greatly by shoving a three-inch-thick pipe through his stomach, and then pulling it out. He heard the robot laugh maniacally as he floated in the sky above him, staring down at him with pleasure.

"Ah, Captain America. Did you truly think that you had the power to defeat me? Without your little team?" Ultron asked, snickering as he watched the Captain suffer.

"I….I….h-had to do s-something. I couldn't j-just sit back w-while you killed innocent p-people…." Steve responded, his words slurring badly. His hand lay on his stomach wound, blood seeping through his fingers. Where were the others? He knew that he'd bleed to death if he didn't get help soon.

"Pathetic!" Ultron spat, landing beside Steve. He threaded his metal fingers through the super soldier's hair and pulled Steve into the air, leaving the man dangling, barely conscious. "What a puny response from such a " mighty hero"," The robot hissed, throwing Steve onto his back. His limbs sprawled out to his sides and his head lolled to the side, his eyelids fluttering closed. On the edges of consciousness, he heard a few explosions, and then he felt something touching him. But it felt too hard to be skin. The ironman suit, he suddenly realized.

He opened his eyes to slits, revealing little slivers of his ice-blue irises. "T'ny…?" He slurred, swallowing the blood that pooled in the back of his throat. His vision was blurry, so all he saw was the silhouette of a figure standing above him. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach and he winced, hissing in agony. The figure hovering above him wrapped some kind of cloth around his wound, hoping to stop the bleeding. His wound was serious; he could feel it.

"Yeah, Cap, it's me. We're going to get you out of this," The billionaire promised, setting a metal hand to Steve's cold and clammy cheek. His breaths were wheezy and he had a pale face. Blood stained his lips.

"….it…hurts…." He whispered.

"Shhh…don't speak. Save your energy," He heard a new but familiar voice whisper back. It was Natasha. He couldn't see her but he knew that she was beside him. Her fingers were trailing through his hair in an attempt to soothe him. "You're going to be alright Steve, just stay with me."

Steve closed his eyes, suddenly realizing that he was in Natasha's arms. He sunk into her, going limp. "'Tasha…..?" He mumbled, keeping his eyes closed. Blood trailed out of the corner of his mouth.

She glanced down at him, her hand moving from his hair to his cheek. "Yes…..?" She whispered.

"I never got the chance to tell you….." Steve gasped out, his arm lifting up. He placed his hand over the one that she had resting on his cheek.

"No, Steve. No goodbyes. You aren't going anywhere." Natasha replied, burying her fear and staring down at him with something close to tears swimming in her eyes. It was bad, he knew it was.

"Nat I…" He broke off, squirming as a fresh wave of pain washed through him. He tensed, a tear falling from his closed eye. "I…..love you," He panted, breathing faint and fast. Steve was suffering.

"Steve…" She whimpered, letting out a choked sob. "I love you too….." She took her thumb and wiped the tear away, her buried worry suddenly resurfacing as she got a good look at how badly he was injured.

"The med team is ten minutes away," Tony suddenly informed them, staring down at the two. Even he had tears in his eyes. He had never seen anyone suffer this badly before, and the sight of Steve, who was just a kid, lying here in so much pain caused his heart to shatter.

Steve's eyelids drifted open a little. "….think….think it's a little late Tony….." He wheezed, looking up at the billionaire with hazy blue eyes.

Tony kneeled beside him, taking his hand. "It's not." He promised, holding his hand tightly. "You're going to make it." He stated firmly. Never in his life had he cared this much about Steve.

Steve coughed, more blood staining his lips. He was dying, he could feel it. His limbs suddenly felt heavier than ever, and his pulse was weakening with each passing minute. He swallowed the blood that pooled in the back of his throat. "…'m sorry 'tasha…..I can't…." He slurred, eyelids flickering shut. Steve went still, his chest barely moving.

"St-Steve? St-Steve?" Natasha stammered, shaking him. His head lolled back in her arms, hanging limply. "Steve!" She cried. Blood bubbled up between his lips and leaked out of his mouth. She placed both of her hands on his cheeks, pulling his head close. Carefully, she pressed her lips to his, ignoring the tang of blood as it entered her mouth. Natasha wrapped her arm around his head, putting it in the crook of her elbow. She threaded her fingers through his hair, leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. "I love you," She whispered in his ear.

Tony's face lit up as he glanced upwards, seeing the quinjet. "They're here! They're here," He sighed in relief. Banner and his med team quickly landed nearby, bringing over a stretcher. They pulled Steve from Natasha's arms and placed him on the stretcher, rolling him over to the quinjet and placing him inside.

Natasha stood up, feeling numb. She walked into the quinjet as well, standing beside Steve and holding his hand, whispering comforting words in his ear even though she knew he couldn't hear her. "He's gonna be okay….." She murmured. "He's gonna be okay," **  
**


End file.
